It’s a safe bet the entire community – apart from the perpetrators – was appalled by the vandalism of military graves at the Nowra cemetery this week. Across the region people were scratching their heads and asking who would wreak such disrespectful destruction and why.
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The fact World War II veterans’ graves were targeted, daubed with swastikas and misspelled antisemitic graffiti, makes the whole sorry episode even more unfathomable. Sadly, it’s not the first time military graves have been desecrated and is unlikely to be the last.
Some years ago the Register reported the theft of personal items interred with veterans’ ashes within the memorial wall. We looked into security measures at the cemetery and learned that years before the theft a fence had been put up around the cemetery before someone stole the fence.
Apart from constant surveillance, it seems there is no quick fix to securing the cemetery. CCTV cameras might provide some form of deterrence but that assumes some level of intelligence on behalf of the vandals – which was certainly not in evidence in this latest attack.
However, if those cameras can help catch offenders then we are all for them. And if said offenders are then made to clean up the mess they leave behind, even better. Part of the punishment should also involve being educated about why the desecration is so offensive.
There is one great result that followed this latest despicable act and that was the speed with which the community responded to have the offending graffiti removed. A specialist cleaning firm turned up to remove the graffiti free of charge and a security firm offered to conduct night patrols of the cemetery. I think families of veterans and the wider community would join the Register in applauding the quick action to clean up the cemetery and try to secure it.
The response shows how much we value and honour the sacrifices made by those who have served their country in peacetime and during war.
Nowra is and will continue to be a navy town. It will always honour those who devote their lives to defending the country. And to those who think desecrating veterans’ graves is in any way acceptable, the whole community will say it is not.
We urge the state and federal governments and Shoalhaven City Council to work quickly to enhance security at the cemetery to try prevent further vandalism.
